La cara de la corrupción

This is one of those UK lost flicks that is really worth hunting down. It's so rare that a flick with the legendary Peter Cushing never had a proper release after the VHS rage. And again he gives a perfect performance as Sir John Rowan a surgeon.

When John got into a fight with a photographer picturing his wife suddenly one of the spots falls on her face. Heavily burned he feels guilty and discovers that he can restore the scarred face of his girlfriend by murdering other women and extracting fluids from their pituitary gland. Sadly the effect of repairing the face doesn't goes on forever and he has to kill again. But he got mixed emotions about it.

There are two versions of this flick around, both are hard to get, the first one the normal version and the second one the uncut strong version. The latter I saw and it is in the first killing, the whore, that there are differences. In the normal, cut, version you only see a knife and some dolls when he is killing the whore but in the strong version she goes naked and is stabbed to death and beheaded by the surgeon. And for the time being I can understand that it was rather gruesome.

All acting was good and some faces did make it, for the horror buffs Billy Murray (Rik) will be recognized in Doghouse (2009) and Dead Cert (2010). A rather good example of British horror worth hunting down, if you will ever find it....

Gore 1/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Let's all be glad that Grindhouse has released a really pristine DVD of the elusive "Corruption". This really, really odd relic from 1968 looks very much like tableaux from some department store windows, from the fashions to the stilted action that takes place. Nothing looks real, seems real, or sounds real.

"Corruption" is pretty much a product of it's time. It appears to be a Hammer Films product, from the starring presence of Peter Cushing to the claustrophobic interiors, but it's actually a Columbia Pictures release. In the genre of "crazy doctor tries to restore woman's face with bad science", this movie is the stepchild of "Eyes Without A Face" and even "Atom Age Vampire" as well as a pinch of "The Leech Woman" thrown in from years earlier. This time, the old story is dressed up in mini-skirts and groovy Carnaby Street duds, featuring an incredibly vain "model" who's the much younger girlfriend of surgeon Peter Cushing. At a happening party hosted by a thinly veiled Andy Warhol wannabe, the model is disfigured by an overheated photo lamp falling on her face. Unfortunately, her doctor boyfriend is responsible for the accident by attempting to punch out the Warhol stand-in, who was trying to get nudie shots of the model. Vain, and now disfigured, said model wants to die but the love-struck doctor saves her face by using nefarious surgical and laser treatments. Naturally, the treatment doesn't last long, so the doc has to stop using corpses for his raw materials and turns to murder.

The twist here is that the vain girlfriend knows all about the sources for her treatment, and eventually goads the doc into committing more crime to make her pretty. These two lovebirds retreat to a seaside getaway, where they encounter the cleanest hippies on film, who attempt robbery but meet karma at the end of a laser. This laser, which is the low budget version of the device used on James Bond in "Goldfinger" appears to be a psychotic dental drill that cuts up and then sets fire to everything...and everybody.

"Corruption" is worth a look for cultists, who've heard about this but never seen it. Unavailable for many years, the new Grindhouse Releasing DVD is crisp, clean, and beautifully transferred. Included in the extras are the "French scenes" in which a topless prostitute is brutally murdered. Cushing brings his usual gravitas to the role of a doctor who'd do anything for love. The hippies are more thugs, despite the Nehru jackets and vinyl mod hats. The ending of this tale of depravity is pretty weird for 1968, tip-toeing into more graphic violence than usual. Mild by today's standards, but probably a shocker in it's time.

Of real interest here is actress Kate O'Mara, who would achieve everlasting fame as Patsy Stone's ancient Eurotrash sister in TV's "Absolutely Fabulous". It's difficult not to think of Ab Fab while Kate attempts to bring some sanity to the murderous goings-on. Worth seeing for Peter Cushing, and an incoherent hit-man hippie named Groper who must have won the second-runner up prize in a John Lennon lookalike contest. Watching him kill an apple is the scariest thing in this movie. Points for what's in the freezer!

After a model's face is burned by a lamp during a scuffle between a surgeon and a salacious photographer, the doctor (who had hopes of marrying the girl) promises to do everything he can to restore her beauty. Screenwriters Derek and Donald Ford concocted this twisted British blood-letter, a violent though somewhat muted variation on 1960's "Les yeux sans visage". Here, the mad doctor doesn't need to kill innocent lovelies for their faces--he needs their pituitary glands! Peter Cushing amusingly begins the picture a dapper, celebrated professional, and his descent into madness is quite a jolt; Sue Lloyd (who resembles Jill St. John) is also good as the vain, shrewish woman who becomes totally dependent on the need for fresh victims. The Swinging London atmospherics are heavily put-on, and the jazzy score from Bill McGuffie is occasionally inappropriate or over-emphatic. The third act, with the doctor and his girlfriend descended upon by thugs at their seaside home, becomes too hysterical, leading to an unsatisfying wrap-up. Still, a good-looking '60s slasher with some tightly-edited sequences and ghoulish suspense. ** from ****

A surgeon discovers that he can restore the beauty to his girlfriend's scarred face by murdering other women and extracting fluids from their pituitary gland.However the effects only last for a short time,so he has to kill more and more women.It is ultimately a killing spree which ends with considerable death and disaster."Corruption" aka "Laser Killer" is a surprisingly sleazy British shocker.The murder of semi-nude Soho prostitute is quite nasty and depraved.Peter Cushing's performance as an insane surgeon is brilliant."Corruption" ain't tasteful and restrained.To put it simply it's an exploitation flick with incredibly noble Peter Cushing in the main role.That's why it's worth checking out.Connect it with "Diversions" and have fun.7 eyes without a face out of 10.

After reading the plot description, I was expecting a British take on the French classic 'Eyes Without a Face'. There's a great deal of Eyes Without a Face rip offs going around; Jess Franco's pair The Awful Dr Orloff and Faceless being among the best of them, and there's nothing wrong with basing a film around that premise; but Corruption doesn't bring much, if anything, new to it and that's a shame as considering the people involved, this could have been a lot better. The film does carry the British style well, although clearly it was a much cheaper production than a lot of the Hammer films. The plot focuses on Sir John Rowan, a doctor who finds himself in a precarious position after an accident involving his wife. Unfortunately, the accident left her badly burned, and feeling responsible; the doctor tries to do something about it. He discovers that if he extracts fluid from women's pituitary glands, he can restore his wife's face - however, the effects are only temporary, leading the doctor to murder again and again to keep his wife beautiful!

Corruption is directed by Robert Hartford-Davis, a capable if not brilliant director behind decent horror 'The Black Torment' as well as rubbish such as Incense of the Damned. As mentioned, it's obvious that Hartford-Davis didn't have much of a budget to work with, although his direction is competent enough, if not particularly enthralling. The film's big draw is, of course, Peter Cushing who takes the lead role as the murderous doctor. Being a horror fan, I am naturally a big fan of the legendary Peter Cushing and always enjoy watching his movies. He doesn't put in a particularly great performance here, although he is still good to watch. It's really a shame he isn't better since the role is quite meaty and could have been made more of. The film was released in 1968 and considering that, the gore is fairly shocking; although the film hasn't aged too well and not a lot of the budget was spent on special effects. The film doesn't stay completely interesting for the duration but it never slows to a standstill or becomes completely boring. I can't recommend anyone goes out of their way to track this one down; but it's worth seeing if you can find it.